Barrage (Insecticon)

The name or term "Barrage" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Barrage (disambiguation).

Barrage is a Decepticon Insecticon from the Generation 1 continuity family.

Crotchguns!

Barrage believes winning is not enough, all must be leveled to the ground, and then the rubble should be burned and the ashes scattered to the wind. Merciless and cruel, he feels kindness of any sort is allowing the enemy hope, and that is unacceptable. He will shoot the retreating and the wounded, and even those taken prisoner. Barrage takes no prisoners. Then he'll keep firing until the battlefield is a smoldering crater. When he's deployed to a battlefield, even the other Decepticons take a few steps back. He's disliked even among their ranks. Maybe it's those beady, creepy little red eyes.

Fiction

Dreamwave Generation One continuity

Barrage speaks a delicious pun to an equally delicious hologram.

After the fragmentation of the Decepticon forces following Megatron's seeming destruction in a space bridge accident, Barrage joined Ratbat's Ultracons. Along with fellow Ultracons Chop Shop and Venom, he was involved in an altercation with Ultra Magnus, Blaster and Grimlock. Barrage accompanied his leader to the Autobot/Decepticon peace ceremony at Tyger Pax, where he granted a brief, violent 'interview' to the holo-image of Slamdance. The Age of Wrath #1

When Megatron and his Aerospace Extermination Squadron retook Cybertron and reunified the Decepticons, Barrage was assigned to supervise enslaved Autobot miners at Internment Camp Pi in Praxus. While there, he and Octane delivered a brutal beatdown to the rebellious Cliffjumper, but were beaten back by Brawn. The Age of Wrath #2

Barrage, along with Chop Shop, Ransack, and Venom, remained on Cybertron following the departure of the Ark and the Nemesis. The planet's chronic energon shortage reduced them to a vampiric existence, forcing them to capture Micromasters and drain them of their fuel. While pursuing Falcon and Flanker in the Wastelands, they ran into the middle of a conflict between the Hot Rod Patrol and Race Track Patrol. Destined for Nothing

After devouring Falcon they soon set upon the other Micromasters, but were driven back by the timely arrival of Groundshaker, who left with the Hot Rod Patrol. The subsequent arrival of Shockwave prevented them from devouring the Race Track Patrol, but he did toss them Flanker as a snack. The Gray Race The Insecticons subsequently abducted the Race Track Patrol and several other Micromasters from Little Iacon, in an attempt to ferret out the Hot Rod Patrol and gain some new recruits in the process. When Blaze Master refused to sign up, Barrage shot him unconscious. En route to Decepticon HQ, Barrage's sonic rifle was stolen by the kleptomaniacal Chop Shop. Recipe for Hate Upon reaching headquarters, Barrage and his cohorts were caught in the middle of a Micromaster invasion. After watching Ransack fall, Barrage was decapitated by Roadhandler. Victims of the Revolution

G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers

As part of Serpent O.R.'s forces, Barrage defended the newly unified Decepticon army's base against a combined Autobot/G.I. Joe strike force. In the course of the battle, he was shot by Lady Jaye. The Art of War #5

2005 IDW continuity

First appearance: Stormbringer #4

Beetle Battle.

During the early days of the war, Barrage served under Bludgeon as part of a team of Titan Hunters sent to find the lost Titan, Metroplex. On the two-hundred-and-thirty-eighth day of this grueling campaign, Barrage and his colleagues destroyed a Nibarian outpost because they believed it was between them and their quarry. A hunch from Thundercracker led them further to a planet inhabited by Urtuskians. As Barrage and the other Decepticons started obliterating the primitive outpost, believing Metroplex was underneath (and also because it was fun), their team was caught up to by a team of Autobots who had been trailing them. Barrage was a casualty of this battle, and when the Decepticons retreated without accomplishing their goal, he and Waspinator were left behind. The Hunting Party

YOOOOOOOOOOOO...Cons?

Barrage got off that planet and was later stationed on board the Thanatos. When Thunderwing returned to decimate Cybertron once more, Barrage joined the battle under Headstrong's command, serving as ground forces backing up Optimus Prime and the Wreckers in their struggle. Stormbringer #4 He later got back to his Titan-hunting duties, this time as part of a new team commanded by Lockdown. Their search led them to the Lost Light, an Autobot ship that had run into a piece of Metroplex, but while salvaging it they were confronted by Trailcutter who tricked them into believing he had fearsome force field abilities. Mortified that the guy might make their sparks go "pop" at any second, Barrage and the other Decepticons fled back to their ship and never looked back. The Reluctant Specialist

On the supposedly lost Luna 1, Barrage continued to work as part of Lockdown's crew, attacking Rodimus and a few others from the Lost Light for "trespassing" on a spark hot spot. The Fecund Moon Pursuing them into a huge graveyard of deactivated Titans, Barrage and the others captured most of the Lost Lighters and delivered them into the custody of Chief Justice Tyrest. House of Ambus

Transformers '84

Look, ma! I'm finally in the Marvelverse!

Early in the war on Cybertron, Barrage was part of a Decepticon assault alongside Chop Shop, Ransack, Blitzwing, Octane, Runabout, Runamuck, Venom, and the Autobot double agent Counterpunch. Secrets & Lies #1

My Little Pony/Transformers

Barrage was among the Insecticon clones who invaded Sweet Apple Acres with the intent of devouring everything in sight. Eventually, Applejack and the rest of the family were able to drive them away. Strength in Numbers

Games

Transformers Legends

When it was discovered that Bumblebee had formed the Bee Team to strike at Decepticon bases worldwide, Barrage and his fellow Insecticons managed to keep the Autobots at bay. The Bee Team

Transformers Roleplaying Game

Barrage was a cruel and brutal Insecticon who would often sacrifice the drones under his command for his own gain. Field Guide to Action and Adventure

Toys

The Transformers

Don't laugh at his guns.

• Barrage (Deluxe Insecticon, 1985)

• Accessories: "Sonic rifle", "electro-sword"
• Known designers: Shinji Aramaki (concept artist)

Released in the second year of the US The Transformers toyline, Barrage is a redeco of the Bandai-owned Armored Insect Corps Beetras "Beet-Gadol" toy, transforming into a robotic Japanese rhinoceros beetle.

As a robot, he is among the most posable of all Generation 1 toys. He is also notable for being among the very few insect Transformers to have all of its beast mode legs folded away and out of sight in robot mode.

As this mold was owned by Bandai, it was not included in Takara's version of Transformers.

• Patent info, price guide, and further reading on Barrage at Transformerland.com
• More information on Barrage at TFU.info

Kre-O

Excuse me, my butt is on backwards.

• Barrage (Kreon Micro-Changer, 2014)

• Bag number: 33501 34
• Accessories: Stand brick, disruptor pistol
• Known designers: Ed Masiello (Hasbro)

Part of the fourth assortment of Kre-O blind-bagged Kreon Micro-Changers, Barrage can be rebuilt from robot mode to an insect mode kinda-sorta rhino-beetle-ish. Moreso if you swing up the bug-mode mandible-things counter to the instructions. Otherwise, he resembles an ant.

Like the other Kreons in this assortment, there is a minor mold variation to Barrage: the initial releases have the usual rounded-off "cuffs" of the forearms (pictured at right), while later runs have the forearms end in a sharp 90-degree angle, making them work better as studs to mount bricks on (though by this point not many Kreons used this trick).

Later runs of this assortment (primarily sold through drug stores) would drop the ID codes on the bags, forcing you to feel for specific parts to know who was inside.

• More information on Kre-O Barrage at TFU.info

Legacy

aka Family Guy Universe Barrage.

• Wrecker Malleus Minotaurus / Chop Shop / Barrage (Multi-pack, 2024)

• Accessories: insect legs, blasters, gun
• Known designers: Mark Maher (Hasbro), Ittoku Kuwazu (TakaraTomy), Amy Bence (packaging)

Legacy: United Barrage a retooling of Legacy Deluxe Class Bombshell with a new head, horn assembly, and rear legs, transforming into a robotic rhinoceros beetle. He comes with a pair of blasters that formed the rear insect legs on Bombshell, but their position is taken by the new hindleg pieces on Barrage. These now-extra blasters can also combine with his rifle to form a bigger rifle.

Barrage's robot mode is actually transformed differently than Bombshell's, with his upper body being reversed from his mold-mate. His arms are also pre-swapped to accommodate. This does leave his shoulder assembly looking a bit hollow, but forward butterfly joints more than make up for this. Unfortunately, this approach also causes screws that were on the robot's back in previous uses of the base mold to become visibly prominent on his chest and torso.

He was only available in a multi-pack with Chop Shop (himself a retooling of Shrapnel who was a retool of Bombshell, yay recursion!) and Malleus Minotaurus, as part of the Mayhem Attack Squad-themed "Doom ‘n Destruction Collection" capsule. These sets are an Amazon exclusive in the US, with a small number sold through Hasbro Pulse. This set was revealed and set up for preorder on Leap Day 2024.

• Designer commentary on the Doom 'n Destruction Collection from Mark Maher on Instagram

Merchandise

Tiny Titans

• Barrage (Tiny Titans, 2016)
  • Series: 6
  • Number: 12/12

Part of the sixth and final assortment of Tiny Titans blindpacks, this version of Barrage is a very small, minimally-painted soft-plastic figure of him in robot mode.

He includes a collectible card that renders him in the 2015 Robots in Disguise styling (and mirrored from the actual toy sculpt, pose-wise). The card includes a scan-badge for the Robots in Disguise mobile game, which unlocks a random amount of Energon "currency" and a randomized bonus power-up item.

Transformers Trading Card Game

• Barrage, Merciless Insecticon (2018)
  • Wave 1
  • Rarity: CT
  • Card Number: T06/T40
  • Stars: 7

Barrage, Merciless Insecticon is one of forty double-sided character cards available in Wave 1 of the Transformers Trading Card Game.

The artwork on the card is reused from the Transformers Legends mobile game, with line-work for both Bot and Alt Mode by Dan Khanna

Notes

• Barrage, like all of the Deluxe Insecticons, was designed by Artmic and originally produced by Takatoku Toys for inclusion in their Armored Insect Corps Beetras toyline (機甲虫隊ビートラス). Decoed in black and grey, the mold first saw release under the name Beet-Gadol (ビート・ガドル Bīto Gadoru)—based on the Japanese word for "rhinoceros beetle", kabutomushi (カブトムシ). Takatoku Toys went out of business a short while later in 1984, and their assets were purchased by fellow Japanese toymaker Bandai. At that time, the American market was one Bandai was not very active in, which made it a competitor of Takara, but not of Hasbro. Due to this, the company had no objection to licensing various Takatoku molds to Hasbro in 1985 for sale primarily in the American market as part of their version of the The Transformers toyline. Nowadays, Bandai has a worthwhile interest in every market and since it only licensed the molds, there is little likelihood that Barrage and company will ever be reissued.
• Since Hasbro and Takara shared the original The Transformers cartoon as promotional material for their respective versions of the toyline, Barrage and the other Deluxe Insecticons were not included in its cast to avoid giving Japanese market-competitor Bandai free publicity. The group was also omitted from the U.S. Marvel comics and barely appeared in the UK Marvel comics, making them the least "successful" of the Takatoku molds.
• Barrage, Chop Shop, and Venom (but not Ransack) all appeared in their Beetras color schemes on Hasbro's 1985 packaging mural, along with several other toys in early or unused color schemes.
• Poor Barrage was one of several Transformers who never got a Marvel The Transformers Universe bio. One was written by Bob Budiansky but was rarely seen until Jim Sorenson put it up on his Disciples of Boltax blog.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Barrage (バラージ Barāji)

External links

• Beet-Gadol at Diaclone.net (Japanese)